Saugus carjacking victim’s vehicle found in Melrose

Wednesday

Aug 20, 2014 at 11:46 AMAug 20, 2014 at 2:27 PM

By Kate Evanskevans@wickedlocal.com

The car that was stolen from a 90-year-old Saugus man Tuesday at the Main Street Stop & Shop was found early Wednesday morning in Melrose.The missing 2001 brown Ford Focus was discovered on Tremont Street near the Melrose Department of Public Works.Melrose Lt. Mark DeCroteau said around 2 a.m. an on duty officer noticed a parked, abandoned car across from the DPW yard. The officer then ran the plate, which came back stolen out of Saugus.DeCroteau said at the time, there was no one around the area. The officer, however, was drawn to the car, as itís unusual for vehicles to be parked on the street that early in the morning."There are no houses there," DeCroteau added. "Itís just two baseball fields."Saugus towed the car back to the townís Public Safety Building and a forensic team was called in to inspect the car.Police are also in the midst of reviewing surveillance footage from outside the Saugus Stop & Shop and the Melrose DPW yard to try to identify the suspect.The victim had just completed his grocery shopping at the time of the carjacking. Police responded at 8:09 a.m. Aug. 19 when they found the man bleeding on a sidewalk."He jumped me and pushed me over into all the carriages. I went down," the victim told the Advertiserís news partner WCVB. "(The carjacker) said, 'I just want to try the car out,' and he drove away."The attacker then stole the victimís car, which contained $30 worth of groceries.Although he had been bleeding, the victim declined hospital transportation. A Saugus police officer instead gave him a ride to a relativeís house.The suspect was described as a white man, 5 feet 7 inches tall, with dark hair and wearing long pants. Police have no leads on the suspect at this time.If the suspect is found he could face several charges related to assault and automobile theft, including assault and battery on a person over the age of 60, according to a Saugus Police Department spokesperson.Police ask anyone that witnessed the attack and/or carjacking to call them at 781-941-1199, or call the anonymous tip line at781-231-4037.The investigation remains ongoing.Jessica Sacco from the Melrose Free Press and WCVB contributed to this report.